"Do you desire power?" asked an unfamiliar voice.
Alexis stood in an unfamiliar setting. She knew that she was in a dream, given that she was standing upright and not using her wheelchair. She looked up and saw a pale-blue sky stretching across the horizon. She looked down and saw a deep dark-blue ocean beneath her. For a moment, she thought she would fall into the dark depths but that did not happen.
"Do you desire power?" asked the voice again.
Now she looked ahead and saw a black shroud covering her field of view. Her instincts told her that there was something inside this this black form.
Suddenly, she saw a shape emerging from the darkness. Her instincts told her to run, but she couldn't. Alexis' feet seemed firmly rooted in their spot, despite how much she was trying to run.
"If you desire power," said the form, as it now reached out towards her with its right arm "then reach out and grasp it with your own hands."
The fear and terror that gripped her heart vanished. Alexis felt a strange and unknown sensation enveloping her mind and clouding her thoughts. Rather than run, she instead turned towards the face-less form. Just as it reached out to her, she too reached out to it.
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Alexis' eyes sprang open and marked an end to her dream. She no longer stood on unfamiliar ground; she was instead in a hospital room. She sighed a little as she tried to recollect the dream she just experienced.
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One day, James received a message from Akashi asking him to come to the research room. Given that she never called him unless it was something important, James assembled faction leaders and Alec then went to the research lab.
Once inside, the trio of Akashi, Purin and Buri walked the team through their analysis of the cubes James stole from Alpha many months ago. Their analysis indicated that inside each cube held a vast sum of energy that was too great for their instruments to measure.
Additionally, there was no way for them to safely dispose the cube. They tried conventional means before asking powerhouses like Saint Louis and Roon to try their hand. When those two failed, the trio asked for the assistance of Friedrich, Warspite and San Diego to try and destroy the cubes. However, even they were not enough to accomplish the task.
"Hold on a second," said James, interrupting the presentation and turning to Friedrich "you weren't able to destroy those things?"
"As much as it pains me to admit it, yes," replied Friedrich "the material Omega used on these cubes is the strongest I've ever seen."
"Which is why we considered other creative options to safely dispose of the black cubes," said Akashi, drawing their attention back to the presentation.
"A further analysis indicates that the only way to destroy them is to expose them to a powerful energy source. Since no one in the fleet provided the required power, we decided to expand our search. That's when we arrived at a novel solution.
Purin and Buri moved the slide and now the group were staring at an active volcano.
"We're going to throw them into Mt. Doom?" asked Alec.
"Mt. Doom?" repeated Richelieu as everyone turned to Alec, wondering what he meant.
"Ignoring the reference," said James "is Alec right? Will the exposure to an active volcano be enough to destroy the cubes?"
"Yes, we believe so," said Akashi "this is the only way for us to be rid of the cubes before they fall into Omega's hands."
"Alright then," said James, putting his hands together "girls, assemble the right candidates for this mission. However, I want some of our best to stay on the base, as always."
"Alec, you and I will head to the command center and discuss strategies," he added.
The girls nodded and one by one they quickly left the room. Just as Alec and James were about to leave, Akashi stopped them.
"Um, Comnyander, there's something else I didn't want to mention," she said
"Go ahead."
"The cubes are emitting an unknown radiation. It's not lethal but given its exotic nature, it is possible to track it on a satellite."
"Then how come Omega wasn't able to find us for so long?" asked James.
"It's because you built that room to specifically dampen the radiation," suggested Alec.
"Which means that once we take the cubes out of this room, Omega's gonna know our location almost immediately," said James and the three girls nodded.
"Thanks for telling me, I'll think of a solution. In the meantime, keep the cubes inside until I say otherwise."
Alec and James left the room and headed outside. Once there, Alec stopped, prompting James to stop as well.
"A mission as big as this is sure to draw attention," said Alec "we have to inform the resistance forces."
"Go ahead, tell them what we're doing," said James.
"You know they'll want to send some of their soldiers too."
"Absolutely not," said James dismissively "doing that means we'll have to arrange transport for them or at worse, I'll have to have one of my fleet members help them."
"If I say that they're going to throw a tantrum."
"Then tell them it was on my orders," suggested James "let them whine and cry about it as much as they want, I'm not here to make nice with those bureaucrats."
Alec sighed at the statement. The pair soon agreed that their first move is to know what the Resistance is doing and then formulate a plan around that. It was obvious they were going to send in their troops, but neither of them knew how many were joining the operation. Based on those numbers, James and Alec would have to tweak the plan and make the necessary arrangements.
With that said, Alec went to the Resistance headquarters and relayed the information. However, rather than telling them they were going to destroy the black cubes, he said they were to dispose of dangerous Siren technology. The intent was to downplay the severity of the mission. That way, the leaders would not try and interfere.
Unfortunately for Alec, his plan did not go as intended.
"This will be the best opportunity for us to test out our soldiers," said Ingrid "they've been training for months now. It's time they get some real combat experience."
"I agree," said Whitney "we cannot rely on the Azur Sky and the Commander. It makes us look weak in the eyes of the people."
"Then it is settled," said Damian "we'll send a detachment to accompany James and the fleet on this mission. This is the perfect opportunity to showcase our strength."
"And who's going to lead them?" asked Lakshmi "I hope no one here intends for James of all people to be the leader. The man has enough power already."
"I'll do it," said Byron "I will lead the troops. It will be a joint operation between the Azur Sky and the human resistance."
"Alec," said Byron "you will go to the Commander and tell him that we'll also be sending our troops to help him."
Alec was about to leave, but not before Whitney stopped him.
"There's something that's troubling me Alec," she said "given from the way you spoke, it seemed like you had no idea that James even had this item in his possession."
Alec, in response, purposely feigned defeat and looked away. "That's correct. James played this pretty close to the chest and kept me out of the loop."
"Your purpose was to know what James is planning and to always remain in the loop," warned Whitney "if you cannot accomplish that then we'll find someone more up to the task."
"With all due respect," countered Alec "James is very careful about who he trusts, if you were to replace me with someone else, they won't even know what James had for breakfast. So kindly save your threats for somebody else."
Alec turned around and left the room, not wanting to see them a second longer. As much as he had trouble reconciling the Whitney he first met with the current one, he understood that this was the effect power had on people. It changed them, warped them, and made them into something they weren't.
All he could hope for was to never go down this path.
"This is bad," said Whitney, after Alec left the room "based on what Alec said, James is committing a significant force for this mission. Whatever they're trying to destroy must be of high value to Omega and her war effort."
"We have to inform her about it right away," said Damien.
"Yes, that would be a good idea," said Byron "we must do everything we can to remain in her good graces."
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Alec headed back to James and relayed the information. James understandably groaned at the idea of having to babysit Byron but decided not to dwell on that. Instead, the pair focused on the plan for their upcoming mission. The mission involved five cruisers, destroyers, battleships and aircraft carriers. That and there was the addition of a thirty-man team coming along for the ride.
The two spent a few hours tossing ideas around till they finally decided on what to do. With that done, they headed out of the room and to the courtyard. Once there, James and Alec met up with the team.
For cruisers there was Belfast, Sirius, Takao, Kinu and Roon. For destroyers there were Z46, Nimi, Laffey, Ayanami and Javelin. For carriers there was Essex, Enterprise, Akagi, Ark Royal and Illustrious. For battleships there was Rossiya, Richelieu, Prince of Wales, Suruga and Tirpitz.
"Everyone check your weapons and your rigging before we head out," said James to the team "it'll take us at least half a day to reach the island so be ready for a long mission."
"James there you are," said someone and James visibly groaned. Against his better judgment, he turned around and forced a neutral expression when he saw Bryon arrive along with the intended thirty soldiers.
"I didn't expect to see you here Byron," said James.
"Of course I was going to show. Ingrid is great in training soldiers but has no real combat experience. It only made sense that I'd be the one to come here."
"Well that's the thing, said James "in order to ensure your safety, you'll be staying here in base camp with Alec and monitoring the situation."
"No, that won't do. I must join you in the mission. After all, you don't know about our troop tactics and movements. Without those, you won't be able to fully utilize our troops combat skills."
"And besides, if anything goes sideways, the soldiers need to know there's someone they can rely on."
"And that's you?" asked James and got a glare in response.
Just then, he saw Yorktown, Ibuki and Izumo coming to them. He noticed the trio were being led by the kids.
"Big bro," said Unicorn "are you going out on another mission?"
"Yep. I'm back to fighting form now."
"Big brother… not fully healed," protested Eldridge.
"Don't worry little ones," said Byron, interjecting himself into the conversation "rest assured your Commander is in safe hands with us."
In response, the girls immediately came around James, acting as a barrier between him and Byron.
"I don't trust him big bro," said Kisaragi and James had to stifle the urge to laugh.
"Please be careful out there James," said Spence, who embodied the worry that all the kids had.
"Don't worry Spence," said James "I'll come back home."
"Take care of yourself Commander," said Yorktown "those kids aren't the only ones worried about you."
With a nod of agreement, James left and joined the team. Illustrious formed her carrier for the team to board. One by one, the two teams got on board the ship and soon enough, they left.
Through much of the journey, the teams were busy checking their weapons, ammunition and rigging. James meanwhile practiced his sword swings to keep himself occupied. While practicing, he noticed how the human soldiers were visibly nervous and concerned.
James stopped his practice and decided to speak to them. As he neared, the soldiers noticed him approaching them and immediately stood to attention.
"At ease," he said "have you all had your breakfast?"
"Sir, yes sir," they replied in unison "we're ready to engage the enemy."
James then noticed a familiar face among the group.
"I recognize you," he said, pointing to a middle-aged man in the middle of the group "you were part of Small's protection force, right?"
"Yes, sir," said the man, saluting him and coming forward "Hijikata Komuro, I was transferred from protection detail to active duty."
"Which unit did you serve in, before the war?"
"The Eastern Defense Force, 143rd division."
"You nervous?"
"No sir. Not one bit."
"You know it's alright to be scared," he said, speaking to Komuro and then to the others "you're facing an enemy with the numbers advantage and the technology advantage. You have every right to be scared."
"But when the time comes, when you're face to face with the enemy, that's when you ask yourself a simple question: do you run away from your fear or do you face it head on?"
Having said those words, James left the group and headed to the girls. Many of them were sitting on the edge of the carrier, while others like Enterprise, Suruga and Kinu were testing their weapons.
"They look scared Commander," said Enterprise, in a low voice so as not to let her comment be heard.
"They should be, this is the first time they're facing an enemy like the Sirens," said James "all this time it's been them running away from the enemy. Now they're running towards it."
"You weren't scared," stated Nimi.
"You shouldn't base your opinion on humanity based on your interactions with me," he said "not everyone's as crazy as me."
"On that we most certainly agree," chimed in Akagi.
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That night, while everyone was sleeping, an alert rang through the ship. The alert was followed by an automated message telling them to assemble in the storage room. James and Akagi didn't have time to change and so the pair dashed out of the room while still in their night clothes. They met up with Essex, Richelieu, Tirpitz and Prince of Wales along the way as they headed to the storage room.
As they neared, they saw Suruga, Kinu and Enterprise pointing their weapons at someone, while Alec tried desperately to get them to calm down.
"There you are," barked Byron as he saw James and stomped towards him "do you care to explain what the hell it is that we're transporting?"
Ignoring the loud voice on his left, James came forward and to his shock, he found that the girls were pointing their weapons at Alexis, Blake and Marie. What's more, Alexis wasn't in her wheelchair, instead she was standing upright.
"What the hell?" he asked, visibly confused by the sight "what's going on? How did they get here?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out but these girls aren't letting them get anywhere near them," said Alec "James, tell them to lower their weapons."
"Commander," said Kinu "if we were a second later, they would have touched the cubes."
"Alec's been trying to call them but no response," said Enterprise.
James came closer and saw that all three had eyes wide open, blank expressions and had their right hand reaching out at the cubes.
"Was I like this too?" he asked and a few of them nodded.
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" shouted Byron to no avail.
James weighed the options in his mind before coming to a conclusion. Rather than strike them down, he proceeded to hit them on the back of their heads and knock them out.
"Commander," said Kinu "we don't know if they'll try this again."
"Hence a few precautions," said James and turned to one of the soldiers who just arrived "you, get your friends and take these three to a holding cell. I want them bound by the time they wake up."
"James—"
"Alec, head back upstairs and bring a chair for Alexis," said James, interrupting him "we're going to have a conversation when they wake up."
Alec decided not to debate the issue too much and left. When he returned, the troops moved Alexis, Blake and Marie to a holding cell. Rather than going to sleep, he instead took a seat outside the cell and waited.
After about thirty minutes, he noticed Blake stirring, followed by Marie and then Alexis. It was understandable that they were shocked and confused by their sudden predicament.
"This is a lot to take in, I understand that," said Alec, slowly getting up "but I'm asking you, please take a breath and I will explain everything."
The trio were at first hesitant to listen to him, but they didn't have a choice. Begrudgingly, they calmed down and stopped trying to escape. Seeing this, Alec explained the events.
"But I don't understand," said Marie "we were in our hospital room. I don't remember even coming here. What's going on?"
"That's what we're all trying to figure out," said Alec "all we know for sure is that it has something to do with those cubes. Don't worry though, James is going to get rid of the damn things."
While Alec headed outside the cell to speak to a few guards, Blake and Alexis exchanged looks. The former wanted the latter to bring up the topic of her recurring dreams, but the latter looked away. Alexis seemed hesitant for some reason to broach the topic.
Alec then came in and said "we're nearing the island so I have to head up. Don't worry, this weirdness will all be over soon."
He left the group and went to the top of the ship. There, he found that they were nearing the island and that the teams were readying themselves. As the ship slowed down, the girls were the first to get off the ship, followed by James and last were the additional troops. Per the plan, Alec and Byron stayed on the ship.
"Odd," said Kinu, scanning the skies.
"Indeed, I know what you mean," said Tirpitz, looking wary.
"What's going on?" asked Alec.
"We haven't run into any Siren forces the whole journey," said the Commander "the cubes are definitely giving off a unique radiation so it doesn't make sense that Omega and her goons haven't jumped us yet."
"I'm going up to get a better look," he added and used his boots to go up. When he was at a sufficient height, he noticed several black ships on the other side of the island. Unfortunately they noticed him too and started firing.
This was followed by several ships appearing in the sky, who also started firing at the Commander.
"All forces battle stations," said Alec "girls, spread out, soldiers take your formation."
Suruga and Tirpitz took aim and fired at two of the ships. Meanwhile an enemy carrier sent out a few planes which managed to cut the Commander on his sides and face. The planes turned around and were coming for a second run, but were blown to pieces before they came closer.
"Thanks Ark," he said and flew towards the ships. When he flew closer, he noticed that several carriers in an inverted V formation. Then, slots on the carrier decks started opening up followed by them shooting a barrage of missiles at their attackers.
"Scatter," yelled the Commander everyone's formation were in disarray from the sudden attack. The missiles hit random locations on the island and covering a generous portion of it in smoke and dust.
The Commander flew to one of the carriers, only to be knocked in the face by an unseen attacker.
"Oh great," he said sarcastically looking at the Siren enemy that stood between him and the ships.
"Hello Commander," said Alpha, pointing her sword at him "how do you like our new toys?"